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Pocilloporidae
The Pocilloporidae are a family of stony corals in the order Scleractinia occurring in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Description Pocilloporids are colonial and most species are reef-building. They are very variable in size and shape, some being submassive and others arborescent or ramose. The corallites are small and vary from being sunken to being raised cones. The columellae are well developed and the septa may be fused with them. The coenosteum lining the skeleton is covered with spinules. The Pocilloporidae are closely related to the other coral families, Astrocoeniidae and Acroporidae. Biology The genera in this family are polymorphic, differing in growth form according to their habitat, but showing similar growth forms in response to light availability and wave action. The colonies are hermaphrodites. The sperm is liberated into the sea and finds its way into other polyps. After internal fertilisation, the planula larvae are brooded by the parent before being ejected i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pocilloporidae
The Pocilloporidae are a family of stony corals in the order Scleractinia occurring in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Description Pocilloporids are colonial and most species are reef-building. They are very variable in size and shape, some being submassive and others arborescent or ramose. The corallites are small and vary from being sunken to being raised cones. The columellae are well developed and the septa may be fused with them. The coenosteum lining the skeleton is covered with spinules. The Pocilloporidae are closely related to the other coral families, Astrocoeniidae and Acroporidae. Biology The genera in this family are polymorphic, differing in growth form according to their habitat, but showing similar growth forms in response to light availability and wave action. The colonies are hermaphrodites. The sperm is liberated into the sea and finds its way into other polyps. After internal fertilisation, the planula larvae are brooded by the parent before being ejected i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pocillopora
''Pocillopora'' is a genus of stony corals in the family Pocilloporidae occurring in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.Veron, J.E.N. (2000) Corals of the World. Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townville, Australia. They are commonly called cauliflower corals and brush corals. Description Cauliflower corals are widespread and can be identified by the presence of wart-like growths on their surface. The colonies can be dome shaped or branching and are very variable in colour and shape depending on the species and the environmental conditions. Species situated on shallow reefs pounded by the sea tend to be stunted whilst those in deep calm water are often thin and open. Each individual polyp has tentacles but these are normally extended only at night. Biology The polyps are hermaphrodite, possessing four sets of male and four sets of female gonads. Pocillopora can reproduce asexually via fragmentation. They also reproduce sexually and the larvae develop inside the polyps rather ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Madracis
''Madracis'' is a genus of cnidarians belonging to the family Pocilloporidae. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution. Description Madracis contains deep water azooxanthellate colonial species. They have a diverse array of growth forms, including fragile branching, dense ramose coralla, massive columnar, nodular and encrusting forms.Neves, Elizabeth & Johnsson, R.. (2009). Taxonomic revision of the southwestern Atlantic Madracis and the description of Madracis fragilis n. sp. (Scleractinia: Pocilloporidae), a new coral species from Brazil. Scientia Marina. 73. 739-746. 10.3989/scimar.2009.73n4739. Species The following species are recognised: *'' Madracis asanoi'' *'' Madracis asperula'' *''Madracis auretenra'' *'' Madracis brueggemanni'' (Ridley, 1881) *'' Madracis carmabi'' Vermeij, Diekmann & Bak, 2003 *†''Madracis crescentensis'' Durham, 1942 *''Madracis decactis'' (Lyman, 1859) *†'' Madracis densa'' Budd, 1992 *†'' Madracis dodecachora'' Squires, 1958 *†... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stylophora (coral)
''Stylophora'' is a genus of colonial stony corals in the family Pocilloporidae. They are commonly known as cat's paw corals or birdsnest corals. They are native to the Red Sea, the Indo-Pacific region and eastwards as far as the Pitcairn Islands. Characteristics Members of this genus are branching corals. The finger-like branches vary in width and have blunt tips. The growth forms and colours are variable depending on many factors, including the level of light and the amount of water movement. The colour may be orange, pink, magenta, purple, green or brown. Species The following species are listed in the World Register of Marine Species The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scientific specialist ... (WoRMS): * †'' Stylophora confusa'' Duncan, 1880 * '' Stylophora danae'' Milne Edwards & ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seriatopora
''Seriatopora'' is a genus of colonial stony corals in the family Pocilloporidae. They are commonly known as needle corals, birdsnest corals or finger corals. They are native to the Red Sea, the Indo-Pacific region and some parts of the Central Pacific Ocean. Characteristics Members of this genus form small bushes with anastomising (linking) branches. The branch tips are sharply tapered and the growth forms are variable, depending on the level of light and the movement of water. The corallites are arranged in neat rows and the polyps only extend at night. The colour of these corals can be yellow, orange, pink, green or brown. Species The following species are listed in the World Register of Marine Species The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scientific specialist ... (WoRMS): * '' Seriatopo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pocillopora Meandrina
''Pocillopora meandrina'', commonly known as cauliflower coral, is a species of coral occurring in the Indo-Pacific and Pacific oceans. This coral lives in shallow reef environments. Description The colonies of ''P. meandrina'' can be fairly solid and dome-shaped or branching with areas that are either flattened and ridge-like or fine and convoluted.Veron, J.E.N. (2000) Corals of the World. Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townville, Australia The colonies are covered by wart-like growths called verrucae. The colour ranges from brown to pink and the polyps with their extended tentacles are usually visible only at night.Veron, J.E.N. (1986) Corals of Australia and the Indo-Pacific. Angus & Robertson Publishers, London, UK Distribution and habitat ''P. meandrina'' occurs in the Indian and Pacific Oceans and is found across a range of habitats that include exposed reefs, protected lagoons and lower reef slopes. Biology ''P. meandrina'' is a hermaphrodite and each polyp con ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scleractinia
Scleractinia, also called stony corals or hard corals, are marine animals in the phylum Cnidaria that build themselves a hard skeleton. The individual animals are known as polyp (zoology), polyps and have a cylindrical body crowned by an oral disc in which a mouth is fringed with tentacles. Although some species are solitary, most are Colony (biology), colonial. The founding polyp settles and starts to secrete calcium carbonate to protect its soft body. Solitary corals can be as much as across but in colonial species the polyps are usually only a few millimetres in diameter. These polyps reproduce asexually by budding, but remain attached to each other, forming a multi-polyp colony of cloning, clones with a common skeleton, which may be up to several metres in diameter or height according to species. The shape and appearance of each coral colony depends not only on the species, but also on its location, depth, the amount of water movement and other factors. Many shallow-water co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polyp (zoology)
A polyp in zoology is one of two forms found in the phylum Cnidaria, the other being the medusa. Polyps are roughly cylindrical in shape and elongated at the axis of the vase-shaped body. In solitary polyps, the aboral (opposite to oral) end is attached to the substrate by means of a disc-like holdfast called a pedal disc, while in colonies of polyps it is connected to other polyps, either directly or indirectly. The oral end contains the mouth, and is surrounded by a circlet of tentacles. Classes In the class Anthozoa, comprising the sea anemones and corals, the individual is always a polyp; in the class Hydrozoa, however, the individual may be either a polyp or a medusa, with most species undergoing a life cycle with both a polyp stage and a medusa stage. In class Scyphozoa, the medusa stage is dominant, and the polyp stage may or may not be present, depending on the family. In those scyphozoans that have the larval planula metamorphose into a polyp, the polyp, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Larva
A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The larva's appearance is generally very different from the adult form (''e.g.'' caterpillars and butterflies) including different unique structures and organs that do not occur in the adult form. Their diet may also be considerably different. Larvae are frequently adapted to different environments than adults. For example, some larvae such as tadpoles live almost exclusively in aquatic environments, but can live outside water as adult frogs. By living in a distinct environment, larvae may be given shelter from predators and reduce competition for resources with the adult population. Animals in the larval stage will consume food to fuel their transition into the adult form. In some organisms like polychaetes and barnacles, adults are immobil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Planula
A planula is the free-swimming, flattened, ciliated, bilaterally symmetric larval form of various cnidarian species and also in some species of Ctenophores. Some groups of Nemerteans also produce larvae that are very similar to the planula, which are called planuliform larva. Development The planula forms either from the fertilized egg of a medusa, as is the case in scyphozoans and some hydrozoans, or from a polyp, as in the case of anthozoans. Depending on the species, the planula either metamorphoses directly into a free-swimming, miniature version of the mobile adult form, or navigates through the water until it reaches a hard substrate (many may prefer specific substrates) where it anchors and grows into a polyp. The miniature-adult types include many open-ocean scyphozoans. The attaching types include all anthozoans with a planula stage, many coastal scyphozoans, and some hydrozoans. Feeding and locomotion The planulae of the subphylum Medusozoa have no mouth, and no ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Acroporidae
Acroporidae is a family of small polyped stony corals in the phylum Cnidaria. The name is derived from the Greek ''"akron"'' meaning "summit" and refers to the presence of a corallite at the tip of each branch of coral. They are commonly known as staghorn corals and are grown in aquaria by reef hobbyists. Description Staghorn corals are the dominant group of reef builders. They come in many shapes and sizes and can be highly variable in colour and form, even within the same species. Most are either a branching variant or a wall/ table top variant shaped and some are encrusting. Encrusting means they grow over rock structure. the Their colours vary between browns, whites, pinks, blues, yellows, greens and purple, depending not only on species but also on the growing conditions. Identification is difficult and requires close examination of the corallites and a biochemical and genetic analysis. There is a corallite at the tip of each branch and, with the exception of ''Astreopora ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hermaphrodite
In reproductive biology, a hermaphrodite () is an organism that has both kinds of reproductive organs and can produce both gametes associated with male and female sexes. Many Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic groups of animals (mostly invertebrates) do not have separate sexes. In these groups, hermaphroditism is a normal condition, enabling a form of sexual reproduction in which either partner can act as the female or male. For example, the great majority of tunicata, tunicates, pulmonate molluscs, opisthobranch, earthworms, and slugs are hermaphrodites. Hermaphroditism is also found in some fish species and to a lesser degree in other vertebrates. Most plants are also hermaphrodites. Animal species having different sexes, male and female, are called Gonochorism, gonochoric, which is the opposite of hermaphrodite. There are also species where hermaphrodites exist alongside males (called androdioecy) or alongside females (called gynodioecy), or all three exist in the same species ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
